2/18/97 Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Late breaking notes regarding the use and installation of your FirePort PCI SCSI Host adapter. 1 Installing Windows NT 4.0 from Windows 95 or MS-DOS: YOU MUST HIT F6 when the message "Setup is inspecting your computer's hardware configuration" appears on your screen. Otherwise the machine will crash with an "INACESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE" message. If you encounter the crash, reboot your machine and press "F6" when the "Setup is inspecting..." message appears. 2 Adding the FirePort to a Windows 95 system with an older Symbios SCSI host adapter: You may see a problem with the Symbios driver not loading after the addition of the FirePort card. This occurs when the Symbios driver detects the SCSI chip used on the FirePort and decides to unload itself. (The FirePort is based on a newer, custom version of the Symbios chip, which is not supported by the Symbios driver.) To correct this, you must obtain the latest driver from Symbios Logic and perform the change driver function from the system properties panel. This version of the Symbios driver will cooperate with the FirePort driver and allow both products to function properly. Symbios can be reached at "http://www.symbios.com". 3 Using Cd-Recordable drives with Windows NT 4.0: Many CDR drives are brought into the Windows NT system as standard CD-ROM drives. The CD-ROM class driver handles access to the device and prevents the CDR applications from accessing the CDR unit. There are 2 ways to work around this... One is to replace the CD-ROM class driver (cdrom.sys) with one that allows write access. The other is to manually disable the CDROM class driver while using the device as a writer. Below are specific instructions for each of these options: 3.1 Replacing the CDROM.SYS driver for Windows NT 4.0: For your convenience, Diamond provides a replacement CDROM.sys driver on the FirePort Utilities CDROM. This is a Beta version of an Elektroson driver and is provided without warrantee or support. Any use is at your sole risk and neither Diamond nor Elektroson is responsible for any effects of using this driver. To install the replacement CDROM.sys driver, execute the CDRINST.exe program located on the FirePort Utilities CDROM under the \NT4READ subdirectory. 3.2 Manually disabling the CDROM.sys driver for Windows NT 4.0: There are two main steps to disabling the driver. You must first set the driver to "manual" startup and then the system will allow you to manually stop and start the driver. The following is a step by step procedure for this. - Select "My Computer" - Select "Devices" - Scroll down to "Cdrom" and highlight it. - Select the "Startup..." button - Select the "Manual" setting - Select "OK" - Select "Close" - Reboot your system. When you are ready to use one of the CDR applications, you must stop the Cdrom driver before running the application. Do so via the following steps: - Select "My Computer" - Select "Devices" - Scroll down to "Cdrom" and highlight it - Select "Stop" - Select "OK" After this, the CDR applications will function properly, but you will not have normal access to any CD-ROM devices until you re-start the Cdrom driver. After exiting your CDR application you should restart the Cdrom driver via the above procedure. 4 BIOS load problems with IBM Aptiva systems: Some older versions of IBM Aptiva systems will not load the BIOS from the FirePort card. This only affects systems running DOS or otherwise using the Int 13 BIOS code. (It is possible to run Windows 95 using the BIOS, but there is a significant performance penalty.) This problem can be corrected by downloading a new system BIOS from IBM. You should check with your IBM representative or look on the IBM web page at "http:\\www.ibm.com". This problem was experienced on an IBM Aptiva C73, P5-200 with a BIOS version of BGAUS4E. The system paused with an 1805 Resource conflict error message. The problem was corrected by downloading BIOS version BSTUS4B dated 8-15-96. 5 Contacting Diamond Technical Support: FirePort SCSI Support Center: 408-325-7130 fax: 408-325-7171 Email: fireport@diamondmm.com Web: www.diamondmm.com FTP: ftp.diamondmm.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Instructions for using FLASHDMD.EXE to upgrade the BIOS for the Diamond Multimedia FirePort PCI SCSI Host Bus Adapter Cards. ********************* IMPORTANT ********************** This Flash utility is meant to be used ONLY with the Diamond FirePort product. ********************************************************* Directions: 1. After acquiring the file FIREPORT.ROM (from the Diamond web site or from the FirePort installation diskette) create a bootable DOS diskette**. You must use DOS 5.0 or higher. 2. Insert the diskette into drive A:. Boot the system to the DOS prompt A:\>. Insert the FirePort installation diskette into drive A:. 3. Type FLASHDMD and press Enter. 4. The first screen displayed indicates what files are necessary to upgrade and general instructions to upgrade. Press Enter to continue. 5. The Main window has 7 command lines. First View Board Summary(3). Make certain that the utility identifies your SCSI controller. 6. Backup the old version of the BIOS to the diskette. Give the file a unique name with a .CSB, .ROM, or .BIN extension. 7. Update current SCSI BIOS. Enter the file name of the BIOS to upgrade or press F2 to view the available files. There should be 2 files available: the BIOS file that was just backed up, and FIREPORT.ROM. If you downloaded a new BIOS file, insert the diskette containing that version. 8. Highlight the file FIREPORT.ROM for the Diamond FirePort Host Adapter and press Enter. It will then display the file name and notify you that the file has been successfully read. Press Enter again. The system will prompt you whether or not to overwrite the BIOS that is currently flashed. Select "Y" to upgrade. The system will then display the card information and verify that the new BIOS is installed. Press any key. Reboot(6). 9. Verify the new BIOS has been installed by viewing the 3rd line of the SDMS banner (which should read PCI-4.03.08) when displayed. ** A bootable DOS diskette can be created by formatting it with the /s option (e.g., format a: /s). Do not install any memory managers or SCSI drivers on the diskette. A minimum of 200K of conventional memory is needed to execute the flash utility. Add the DOS mouse driver to AUTOEXEC.BAT for mouse control of the flash utility. -----------------------------------------------------------------